


A Few Minutes

by atsukunaru



Category: Full Metal Panic
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Sickfic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-27
Updated: 2019-02-27
Packaged: 2019-11-06 06:39:47
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,149
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17934722
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/atsukunaru/pseuds/atsukunaru
Summary: Sousuke comes to school with a cold, and Kaname finds her gentle side.





	A Few Minutes

**Author's Note:**

> i think i may have missed this train by about a decade.
> 
> takes place during fumoffu.
> 
> thanks for reading!

Kaname doesn’t doubt for a minute that Sousuke isn’t feeling well.

Sitting beside him like this, she can hear him breathing in and out through his mouth, sniffling every now and then through his stuffy nose. His voice has gone all gravelly and rough, and his posture is slumped in a way that is distinctly unlike himself. Even to the untrained eye, he looks like he’s having trouble keeping himself awake—a fact that might be endearing were he not so obviously miserable.

He’s been wearing a flu mask all day out of consideration for his fellow classmates, muddling through his schoolwork with half as much energy as usual. Now that it’s their lunch break, Kaname has time to study him, and she’s not comforted by what she sees.

Sousuke hasn’t even bothered braving today’s tussle for bread. Instead, he’d chosen the path of least resistance—tugging the mask down to take sips of green tea purchased from the vending machine. Whether it’s because his throat is too sore to manage anything solid or because his appetite has simply disappeared, Kaname couldn’t really say, but she’s worried.

They’re sitting in the relative seclusion of the classroom now, watching other students mill around outside or in the hall. The rest of their class has retired to different parts the school grounds, eager to enjoy the nice weather. From what Kaname can see through the window, it’s still as temperate and sunny as it had been on her way to school—yet another reason she’s surprised to see Sousuke hit by such a bad cold at this time of year. No one else in their class is sick, so she suspects it must’ve been something he picked up on the job. She’ll have to grill Weber and Mao when she has a chance.

In the meantime, however, Sousuke is being _incredibly_ stubborn about the whole thing. She’s seen him sick before, but at the time he’d been so feverish and strung-out that he really hadn’t been able to put up a fight.

Today, though, he’s just _frustrating._

“Why don’t you go to the nurse?” Kaname prods, feeling like a broken record for the thousandth time that day.

“I can’t listen to the lesson in the nurse’s office,” he croaks pathetically, dragging his weary stare up to meet hers.

Kaname rolls her eyes. “How much do you honestly remember from this morning, _huh?_ Go on, tell me.”

“I—well, we…” he seems taken aback by her question, “…we did…math?” It’s more of a guess than a real answer, and Kaname is _not_ impressed. He looks, for a moment, like he wants to say something else, but his next inhalation hitches, hitches, until he’s smothering an explosive sneeze into his shirtsleeve.

Kaname sighs, briefly considering the merits of strangling him—but unfortunately she doesn’t get the chance before his breath catches again and he breaks off into a series of chesty coughs. She unclenches her fists, lets her irritation go by the wayside, and pats his back instead. He makes a motion like he wants to shrug her away, but it’s completely futile and they both know it. She can see moisture collecting at the corners of his eyes, whole body shaking as he hacks into the crook of his elbow.

Her hands slide up to his shoulders as the coughing slowly lets up, but his eyes remain closed while he tries to collect himself. He’s _tense_ , of course—she can feel the tightly coiled muscle beneath even a light touch. He’s also, unsurprisingly, pretty sweaty. And maybe a little feverish? Oh a whim, she presses her thumbs inward, massaging a few firm circles at the base of his neck. 

She half-expects him to pull away immediately, which is why she’s surprised and slightly pleased when his head droops forward instead, giving her permission to continue. Sitting by his side, she’s not exactly in the perfect position to do this, but she refuses to make any sudden movements for fear of breaking the spell.

Almost imperceptibly, his breathing begins to slow, evening out bit by bit while she keeps it up. This is the most relaxed she’s seen him all day, and she can’t help but feel somewhat honored to have been the cause of it. He sighs, and she smiles. If she didn’t know better, she would almost think he was falling asleep sitting up. 

But sure enough, Sousuke only allows it to go on long enough to gather up a few scraps of his lost composure. He lifts his head, blinking blearily up at her as if seeing her for the first time.

“You okay?”

“Mhm,” he nods. “Sorry, I j— _just_ —” another sneeze cuts off whatever he intends to say, followed by yet another, then a third. He sniffles behind the mask, eyes half-lidded and looking even woozier than before.

Kaname feels a tug on her heartstrings despite herself. “Still okay?”

“Yes,” he replies, eyes falling fully shut as if to contradict himself, “my head hurts.”

“No wonder,” Kaname murmurs, “you’re all congested. Totally gross and unappealing.”

He nods his agreement.

Kaname feels the corners of her lips quirk upward despite herself. She reaches over, gently placing a hand against the side of his face—coaxing him to rest his head against her shoulder. He follows along easily, too spent to put up a fight against such a willful adversary.

It ought to be awkward, Kaname thinks, to have this kind of intimacy on display in public—especially with the boy who makes her want to tear out her own hair on a regular basis. But really, what’s the worst that could happen? Kyouko might walk in on them, sure, but the only real consequence would be a silly snapped picture and a bit of light teasing. It’s certainly _survivable_ , if nothing else. If it means she can give her sick friend a modicum of comfort, won’t it have been worth it?

Sousuke sags into her side, tension leaving his body more and more with each slightly wheezy exhalation. He’ll _definitely_ have to go to the nurse now—Kaname will accept no more arguments. She’ll take good notes and lend them to him later, and that will be that.

She has to stifle a surprised little laugh when he suddenly snores right next to her ear. He really _must_ be exhausted, the poor guy.

Kaname had sort of been hoping to eat her own lunch today. She certainly hadn’t really planned on playing pillow for a military mercenary—on this afternoon or any other. However, she also hadn’t expected to have a peaceful moment alone with Sousuke, nor did she anticipate that he would be feeling so unwell, or that she would be a part of such a simple solution.

So she _supposes_ —only because she’s feeling nice—she could let him sleep for just a few minutes longer.


End file.
